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Theres been lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth here, but a genuine question, who would you play instead? We CANNOT play 4-4-2 because we have 1 competent winger at the club in Lawless and he is crocked! AND that would mean a combo of Campbell / Polworth / Maguire / O'Hara / Crawford in the middle. The whole reason we play 3 in centre mid is to give an extra man as protection, imagine our midfield with only 2 of those! And the diamond just gives the opposition even more free reign to slaughter us down the wings by making us even narrower. The best answer for me for the rest of the season is 3-5-2 with Watt & Cole as a team up front. But could we do that yesterday? Do we have enough defenders to do that at all? Questions need to be asked of the January signings. It is unacceptable to just go for the "fling enough shite at the wall and some will stick" tactic. IF it was Alexanders recruitment, he needs fucking hammered. If it is the fabled worlds greatest scout Foyle, he needs sacked immediately. Same with Gallagher. If he has indeed been playing the cunt with this contract renewal, I would sack him right now for gross misconduct, and assasinate him in the media. Let the cunt live for 4 months with fuck all and kill any chance he has of the Euros. We cant afford to be this cuddly wee club thats everybodys pal. There is poison running through the veins of this club, and while Graham Alexander isnt completely blameless, you can only piss with the cock youve got! He gets us to the end of the season and its job done, I dont care if its by 1 point or 1 goal. Then we reset in the summer and see how he really is

Something a bit fishy about that mussel injury story.

Maybe he wants a move to Shellic.

I see the knickers are back to being soaking again

LOL Steelboy. If Gallagher had signed a 3 year deal and had been a dud you would have been the first on here complaining about why Burrows had committed the club to a 3 year deal. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. That aside, I am struggling to see your point. Talking hypothetically (because we do not know the circumstances in this specific case) you seem to be arguing that it is Alan Burrows fault when: a player signs in good faith (my word is my bond...!) a contract with Motherwell and then months or a year later realises that, due to a good spell of form, the contract no longer suits his needs 100%. The player refuses to play, potentially jepordising the future of that club (holding the club to ransom you could argue) until such times as the contract is amended in his favour. If that is your argument, then it seems to me, that it gives license to every future Motherwell player with a sob story, to renege on a contract, rendering the club completely helpless. Player power in the extreme I would think and a genuine recipe for disaster (if disaster has not struck already).

Watching GA's post match interview, what strikes me is that he has aged somewhat over the last month. I think I would be placed in the happy clapper camp because I tend to argue for the managers we have. This comes from a base point of recognising how tough it is to be a manager at any football club but particularly a club like Motherwell. I think the strain on GA's face tells it's own story there. Replacing managers is not an easy fix. My other main reason for generally backing managers is that I am no fan of player power. The Gannon saga was mentioned a few pages back and whilst I will admit to losing the argument then regarding Gannon being a decent manager, I still believe that something was rotten then regarding one or two of the senior players behaviour. Possibly the same could be said about Baraclough's last month in charge. It lightning striking again? Possibly. We will never know the full story but again the current situation has a stench about it that is becoming an all to familiar theme at Motherwell. For my money this squad of players are more than capable of staying in this division and since the first ball was kicked in August, they have constantly underachieved. I have said a good few times before that in August, I don't think I heard anybody on this board saying we had a poor squad of players, infact, it was quite the opposite. If Declan Gallagher is refusing to play for contract reasons then I don't think we have to look any further for reasons why all is not well in the dressing room. If your club captain is refusing to play it is bound reflect in the other players. Given however that this is sheer speculation I am going to assume for now that he is genuinely injured and will be back soon. Looking at the positives, it is always small margins between success and failure as this particular team has shown repeatedly this season. As it stands we have two Scotland internationalists who we must assume, will be highly motivated to play in the Euro's this summer. This has to be to Motherwell's advantage no matter what else may be going on in the background. A rested invigorated Alan Campbell would also make a big difference to this team. I also believe that if Christopher Long could score a few goals we would have a transformed striker on our hands. I believe his issues lie in a lack of confidence rather than any inherent poor attitude. The enigma for me is Polworth? A good player who is visibly showing signs of being in the huff. Get him switched on and suddenly the team looks strong again. It is the very, very difficult job of a Motherwell manager to get all the pieces of the jigsaw in place.

Max johnstone ,17 yrs old thrown in at the deep end and showed up the rest of them.

If that is the case, and im not saying its not, then surely the solution is to move Watt back to what should be the tip of the diamond position. Let him play the turnbull role. He is the only one that can take a touch and create, to be honest the only one with vision. He doesnt score anyway so pulling him back a bit doesnt sacrafice anything

It has taken a while but I have finally laughed at a Grizzly joke. After a shit weekend maybe this signals the start of a bright new dawn.

No clause was mentioned

Im not so sure, Having watched their highlights I don't think they are. They are losing narrowly 1-0 and we were lucky to beat them. Accies and RC have more metal about them that us. I am now convinced after tonight we are this seasons fall guys. I wonder if GA contract is dependent on us staying up. Maybe we should get Gallaghers agent to get us an escape clause.

This season, yes. In fairness to him he's a different kind of player to Turnbull. DT played in a more advanced role whilst Polworth plays deeper, along with our other midfielders. That creates a gap between them and our strikers, which has been hard to bridge.

Oh of course, not having a go - apologies if that's how it came across. I know its just a laugh. I was trying to stress that I thought he was actually very good. Nothing to do with the thread title.

Polworth has talent but doesn't suit playing in a 3 man midfield. He can't tackle - but he can split defences with good passes. Unless we play a 3-5-2 he's a luxury we can't afford and to be honest I'd rather drop Watt back and play him in the hole.

Like mcleish tried t do way back in the day b4 he took over at hibs..backfired though..we stayed up n he took over hibs in the championship

The club relies on the financial interest of the players and the club being aligned. Basically they both make more money if the player plays well. Gallagher's contract has introduced a scenario where him playing for us reduces the amount of money he will make in the future so obviously he doesn't want to play. That's a poorly designed contract and the blame falls on Burrows. The players at any club can spit the dummy and decide not to play which is why we are having to make an example of Gallagher even though he succeeded in getting his contract changed. The entire situation is a shambles and completely unnecessary. I'm quite happy for players who have proven themselves at our level to sign longer contracts and give us some continuity.

Yep, jus turned 17 in December as well. He's definitely worthy of more than 'least worst'. I thought he was very good, got stuck in where others were backing off and is a really sharp passer. Aye, he gave it away a few times but that tended to be when he was trying some more incisive forward passes. Looking forward to seeing more of him.

I actually do think our season would’ve been very different had fans been allowed in as normal, some of the performances both individually and collectively just would not have been accepted. However, as you say it’s been the same everywhere and other teams have managed to be less shambolic and adapted accordingly.

Agree with every word If Gallagher is fucking about re his contract the club ( Burrows ) need to come clean … … No one player is bigger than the club. Tell him he’s cleaning the toilets and other players boots for the rest of the season as well as docking his wages for not playing and don’t let the door hit him on the arse on the way out in the summer. Someone at the club needs to grow a pair !!!!!

Great post. I’ve never seen a squad/team/situation in as much need of a good “booing” in my life!

Makes you yearn for the Clays, Heneghans, Roses and McHughs etc who were all deemed not good enough.

Sorry, I'm struggling to see any positives. If there's player power in action, how are we gonnae fix that? They've seen Robinson off, Lasley was gone in 90 minutes, now Alexander's struggling. If - and it beggars belief - everything's rosy, we're dealing with an entire team of injured/ill players (half of whom we've no real clue when they'll return), another team that's clearly not up to the job and a bunch of January signings, who are either dross or MIA. There's nothing to suggest any of our 'problem' players are likely to suddenly find new form or attitudes at this late stage, and there's nowhere left to turn. Same with the manager. Alexander only needs to keep us up, no one expects anymore now, but we don't expect anything less either. If some of the squad, especially the ones we really need, aren't performing for him, he's screwed. And if he persists with tactics that are getting us hammered, there will be questions about his future very soon. Whatever the situation, it's his job to find a way to survive. Worst thing is, we have zero influence over this. We're sitting at home watching a disaster unfolding and no amount of positivity or negativity on our part will make the slightest difference.

Very few got pass marks let alone MOTM. The only candidate is Max Johnston, who somehow managed to look like a competent right back given all the carnage going on around him. Quite a feet for a 17 year old. Well done young man.

I wouldnt back this Motherwell team in a one team league.

The situation with Gallagher highlights one of the biggest problems we've had this season, a complete lack of leadership on and off the pitch. I know Hartley was probably finished at our level and making mistakes that cost us goals (the first half of the St Mirren Cup game leaps to mind) and that it was probably the right time for him to leave. Having said that, we could really have done with a captain that could bring some leadership to the team on the pitch this season. We have lacked it all over the park. Gallagher hasn't shown he has that on the pitch and this whole contract nonsense (if true, and I have no reason to doubt ML1's info) has shown a total disregard for the club. Dont know the guy and have no contacts within the club, but it appears that his run in the Scotland team has given him a bit of a Billy Bigbaws attitude, happy to sit out games when he is needed most just to so he can breach a contract that he was happy to sign in 2019. I occasionally glance through Burrows Twitter account to see if he has provided a reply to someone on potential signings or injury updates. If I was in his position I would be raging about the Club Captain taking the stance he has, instead he's posting 'Congrats Deccy, your wee boy is a cracker' style tweets. Time to start playing hardball and revealing what's really going on rather than trying to be his best pal. If he isn't playing for contract reasons then we need to be honest publicly, I'm sure it will give Gallagher's potential suitors food for thought, maybe Steve Clarke too if he doesn't play again this season to force a summer move. Not sure that will do his chances of playing in the Euros much good tbh.

Yesterday was an utter clusterfuck. Most of it has been covered already, but if there was any doubt to the gravity of our situation, it has certainly been dispelled now. The manager has been dealt a heavy blow with the number of injuries and suspensions he has had to deal with, and I would be very disappointed if the players have downed tools because he is trying to implement higher standards in training etc as seems to be being inferred, however he didnt help himself yesterday with his formation. The 4-3-3 has left our midfield being overun week after week already, so to employ it again with a severely weakened back 4 was just suicide. There are already question marks being raised regarding the way we defend ( or dont as the case may be) the wide areas, and the goal kick set plays, if he lines up with the same formation on Wednesday night demonstrating he hasnt learned anything from the last 2 games, he is going to start raising serious questions as to whether he is the man for the job. I really want him to be a success, and I believe if he can get to the summer with us still in the Premiership, then we may see a very different squad next season and the real Graham Alexander. However, he has to earn the right to rebuild this team by keeping us in the topflight. Time to face reality. We are in a relegation battle. We need to get hard to beat and win ugly if required. But just win.

Glad you got that off your chest. Been time for them to man up all season & it’s yet to happen. Time will tell...

We sold it.

It's been apparent since the start of the season that something's been going on in the dressing room. My view is that GA has come in and tried to sort it with some success but not enough to sort it completely so you have to ask yourself what exactly is the problem. Even his body language on the touchline tells a story now. GA has inherited a clusterfuck by the sound of things and I for one can't wait till next season when he's brought his own players in and hopefully still in the top division. In saying that I think he's made a few mistakes in formation but that might be down to the players he's had available and can trust to do a job rather than being a bad coach. He's also still to get to grips with the Scottish game which must be completely different to what he's been used to. My only worry is that if the players brought in January are his call then I would be a bit worried about the calibre of player he can attract in the summer but in saying that that might have been all that was available in our price range so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Then again it might not even have been all his doing. Resigned to the fact that our fate will come down to what we do after the split when hopefully we've got our injuries/ sickness issues resolved

Not having that. We as the fans are essentially owners of the club. I do not expect sensitive information to be shared but the lack of updates on player injuries or circumstances is starting to become infuriating. It is perhaps understandable we don’t want to share such bad news with the opposition ahead of a game. But this has changed since Robbo left. So essentially the key message appears to be that the players are somehow unhappy with the new management team. Alexander seems quite inoffensive to me and so I wonder why that is ? I am not asking you to share sensitive information nor would I expect you too. I have been in that position before and rarely if ever posted what I knew on Steelmen Online. But then again nor did I give hints or clues either as I knew it would probably piss people off.

Im with you however the majority on here think we have 2 international superstar defenders and Tony Watt was in with a chance of going to the euros as Scotlands number 9 , despite someone only "surprisingly" finding out today he doesnt score goals Always been the way on here , Connor Ripley was the next Gordon Banks etc We did beat Ross County a couple of weeks ago though after giving them a goal of a start and have picked up a few other points so all those who have disgracefuly ran the white flag up already should be aware that we are still favourites to stay up and have a good at least a fighting chance of doing so. We are Motherwell, we are Motherwell, we are, we are

What does this even mean ? I have nothing against you OTF but if I am being critical you are guilty of coming on this forum and giving part answers or hints and often actually telling us nothing. It is clear you are in the know but and I speak for myself it can be quite irritating. You have hinted at some discontent with current management and I along with others are totally bemused as what is unfolding re the amount and nature of injuries. To have 18 players unavailable is probably unprecedented in any football club. Thee could be perfectly valid reasons for all of them but something appears to be amiss.

Formation really gets on my goat for the following obvious reasons. The front 3 - don't play well together. Long is a centre forward not a wide player so it doesn't work. 3 midfield players don't work with our current team for the can't pass or are slow. We get outfought /over run every game in midfield. We could play 3 -5 -2. and have 2 wing backs 4-4-2 Bottom line is If we keep playing the same formation its 1) easy for the opposition 2) madness to expect it to work This is stuff I'd expect a new manager to change and I'd certainly expect us to change formation mid game when getting humped - it's not good enough.

A model of how to do what, avoid relegation and settle for a bottom 6 finish, they have been as shit as us in recent weeks , a couple of results makes a big difference. Compare like for like ie 1st choice players for both teams, not the thrown together shambles we had today, do they have better players , maybe 1 or 2, in certain positions but overall I would back us to beat them as we have done consistently in recent seasons. We are a fan owned debt free top flight club for 30 odd years, multiple European qualifications, do StJ regularly challenge for a top 6 finish or a European spot, no. So are they miles better than us playing wise..no, how the club is run...no, they are a mid table club just like us.

As bad, if not worse than last week, without the excuse of a red-card (and trying use to Barry Maguire being hit with the ball in the face as a factor). I had been generally impressed with what Alexander had achieved in the short time since his appointment. I've had my concerns about the way we've tried to shut up shop towards the end of games, but we had made some progress. But last weekend had the alarm bells ringing such as the lack of activity when the game was beginning to get away with us. That has only been exacerbated after today. It was an excellent finish for Saints opener granted but you don't have to look too hard to see how it could have been prevented. The second, the epitome of shooty-in. The third, further lack of awareness from Polworth on the back of Pittodrie. But Polworth wasn't alone in seemingly learning nothing from previous matches. Three isolated forwards again? Especially when you have little or nothing in the way of creativity to give anything remotely resembling a fighting chance and a make-shift defence that desperately requires all the protection it can get. Still the perseverance with the short kick outs at goal-kicks? No Jock, it isn't dangerous because of the conditions or the pitch. Its dangerous because of the frequency we try to do it, the signal it sends out to the opposition and the standard of the players trying to carry the manoeuvre. Alexander is being hamstrung with the sheer number of players that are available to him, that is pretty obvious, but he's not helped himself in several respects and has now presided over back to back results and performances that have been as poor, if not worse, as those that resulted in the change of manager in the first place. There was absolutely nothing. One attempt to goal to twenty plus from St Johnstone. That is an absolutely horrendous statistic. A team that we could actually have overtaken had we won and we are allowing more than twenty efforts at goal from them. Apalling! That the teams below us have gained no ground and that another game has been ticked off is about as positive a spin as you could put on it. It says much that its as good as it gets. There was some great work undertaken in the early part of this year that put us in a position to really move ourselves clear of bother. We are in danger of completely screwing up all that good work. We have a game in hand that could allow us to put ourselves seven clear of second bottom but do you have any faith that we can go to Paisley in midweek and make that happen. I'm afraid to say that at this moment in time I'm struggling to find it.

Anyone checked Bevis' contract for an appearance related extension clause ??

The virus screwed clubs and businesses. There will be a lot of hindsight and revisionist history thrown at this for political purposes, but to me the idea of having lots of people in close contact for the best part of two hours every week doesn't seem like a good idea when you're trying to limit the deadliness of a virus and its strain on our healthcare system. It hit us bad enough when we took measures to mitigate the spread, so I can't imagine what would have happened if we had just let it spread. Heard immunity through vaccination is indeed a way out of this, and luckily some clever folk managed to create a bunch of successful vaccines in less than a year, and we're seeing it being rolled now, so hopefully next season we can get back to something like normal. Which would be nice since I plan to get a season ticket since I'll hopefully be back home.

I won’t be renewing at Fir Park as much as it hurts me and my love for Motherwell and sitting in the Cooper until I can attend without wearing a muzzle or being told when or how to enter or leave, when to cheer or when to stand up or sit down. Herd immunity is the only way we will ever get to sit our arses back in our seats as there is no exit strategy by our governing politicians. The government have in my opinion, and I know many on this forum will disagree but heh it’s my opinion and that’s democracy, have thrown clubs like Motherwell “under the bus”, ever changing and clouded decisions at best will put Motherwell and many other clubs our size in a precarious position, meanwhile clubs like the bigot brothers will continue to survive, I have supported Motherwell for over 50 years but unfortunately I do t think there will be the football league as we know it in 12 months, thanks to our wonderfully incompetent government/s

Get Alexander tae fuck